Have you talked to your Crusader about...?

Dear Parents and Family Members,

We want to take a few minutes to encourage you to speak with your student about safety
issues and high risk behaviors on campus. We want our students to be safe on campus,
and sometimes activities, actions or decisions made by students can take away that
sense of security and safety on campus.

On college campuses throughout the nation, there is a vast issue of underreporting
sexual assault. Sexual assault is never the fault of the victim. At UD, we want to
ensure an environment of safety and confidentiality so that, should a sexual assault
take place, our students can be comfortable making a report to the appropriate party.

We ask that you speak to your children about safe behaviors versus risky behaviors,
and making good decisions in social situations. We also ask that you encourage your
students to make use of the resources on campus. During the fall semester, we offered
a free self-defense class. In February, we offered bystander intervention training
to recognize potentially harmful situations. During the month of April, we will focus
on sexual assault awareness.

On January 22, 2014, the White House announced an initiative to combat sexual assault
on college campuses, bringing to light an issue that affects thousands of young people
every year. This action by the White House is the latest in a series of federal legislation
and guidelines over the years intended to address the problems associated with sexual
violence on college campuses. As the University of Dallas is an educational institution
that receives financial assistance from the government, UD is governed by the following:

In 1972, Title IX of the Education Amendments revised federal funding laws to prohibit
sex-based discrimination in higher education.

In 2001, the Department of Education Office for Civil Rights (OCR) provided guidance
for colleges and universities "to ensure that employees are trained so that those
with authority to address harassment know how to respond appropriately, and other
responsible employees know that they are obligated to report harassment to appropriate
school officials."

In 2011, OCR came out with additional guidelines that reiterated Title IX's guarantees
that all students receive an education free from sexual harassment and violence. OCR
also recommended that "all schools implement preventive education programs as part
of their orientation programs for new students, faculty and staff."

The message is clear: we must educate our students and staff on the topics of sexual
harassment, sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence and stalking. We must
provide them with the resources and options for any situation involving sexual misconduct.
As Crusaders, we must be willing to assist those who may be afraid to come forward
or who may not know where to turn for help.